How much is the life of a child worth?
by Miss-Inquisitive-Sci-fi
Summary: Fugitive name: Lothar Blake. To be captured ALIVE. Considered dangerous. Last known location: Azak Province, Ergan II. Captain Pike and the crew of the Enterprise have been assigned the priority 1 assignment of carrying out the arrest warrant. The crew are immediately plagued with problems; scanning interference, a fleeing fugitive and an innocent child caught in the middle. Whump.


**A/N - This tale takes place pre-Discovery and follows the Enterprise crew with Captain Pike.**

* * *

"The fugitive Lothar Blake has fled somewhere in this building. Enterprise spotted him going in and he hasn't left." Captain Pike debriefed the ground team who were huddled around a data pad showing the floor plan of the target building in question. "Unfortunately scans aren't showing where he is and to make matters worse this entire area is being jammed by something, so no life-signs are showing up at all."

Chris glanced around at the faces of the away team which mostly comprised of security officers and personnel with good tactical skills. They were all kitted out with vests, phasers and restraints; everything they needed to carry out the warrant they had been issued and to arrest the fugitive in question. Lothar Blake was wanted on a number of charges involving smuggling and various weapons offences, Chris only knew that he was a priority one target who had vital information about an impending attack and he had to be captured _alive._

They had spotted Blake exactly where intelligence had said he would be, but unluckily the place had been crowded and as soon as the team had entered the guy threw tables over and made for an exit that hadn't been on the floor plans. After a desperate chase through busy streets and after having to deal with numerous obstacles that had been thrown their way, the team had lost sight of the fugitive.

"Enterprise will continue to try and break through the jam to give us better coverage down here, but for the moment we're on our own." Chris continued gravely, watching as the news sunk in and everyone understood the consequences. "We'll have to clear every room and floor."

The building in question was an abandoned derelict high-rise, 20 stories high and comprising of 20 apartments per floor. Chris only had 4 other officers with him planet-side; they couldn't take the chance of the fugitive escaping again whilst Enterprise worked on clearing the jamming equipment. They would have to take 4 floors each, spread out across the building and work from each level upwards so Blake didn't have a chance of slipping through their net.

Chris split the floors between the five of them, he took the bottom four knowing that was statistically the most likely hiding place. When everyone had been assigned their job he outlined the procedure for when someone spotted him.

"If anyone gets a positive sighting on the suspect call it in, do not try and engage him on your own. There's every chance he's armed and he's definitely dangerous." Pike glanced around at the faces around him and noted happily that they were all hanging on his every word and taking the situation seriously. The last thing he wanted was for anyone to get hurt over this search; or worse.

"Everyone know the score?"

The chorus of "yes sir's" were immediate and unanimous.

* * *

Chris cleared his first floor without incident, it was taking approximately 2 minutes to clear each apartment properly. Thankfully because they were stripped out and derelict there weren't many places to hide inside; all the rooms were essentially bare and thankfully the majority of the apartments had only a small number of rooms. The best ones were the kind with no doors at all, it meant he didn't have to worry about squeaking hinges giving away his position or being obscured from what was happening on the other side.

When he reached the second floor he began the search all over again, working his way down from the left side of the corridor to the right. The Captain listened keenly for any indication of life all along the corridor and through each apartment, but everything was silent.

Suddenly he heard a noise; something so quiet that he was already questioning if it was real. He thought it came from the next apartment along so he crept through the doorway silently, phaser out and ready incase he wasn't just hearing things.

When Chris turned the corner into the main living area he froze, like his mind almost completely shut down. He simply hadn't expected to see what his eyes were showing him and he hadn't planned on it either; this building was supposed to be derelict.

Standing in the middle of the room crouching behind a little girl who could be no older than four years old, was their fugitive and to top it all off Blake was armed with a knife which was held against the little girl's throat. Chris noticed that there was a women lying on the floor nearby; she wasn't moving and had blood seeping from her head. Right now he wasn't sure if she was alive or not but frankly all his attention was on the child who looked terrified and had clearly been crying.

Chris brought his phaser up belatedly and his brain kicked into gear as he reacted to the threat. He let his training take over and tried to put aside the emotional tug from seeing a hostage in their fugitive's grip, but that was easier said than done when it was a child in the middle of all this.

Blake reacted to his presence instantly and crouched behind the little girl further using her body to shield as much of him as he could. He waved the knife threateningly close to the child's throat and cried out. "No sudden moves or she's dead!"

Pike could hardly believe that someone would stoop as low as this, using a child as a human shield, there really was scum in the universe. He licked his lips nervously but tightened his grip on the phaser, his mind raced through negotiation tactics as he tried to get a clean shot. "I'm not here to hurt you, just put the weapon down and let the child go."

The Captain knew he should get reinforcements here but he couldn't very well reach for his communicator in the middle of all this; the fugitive would probably see it as a threat and Chris couldn't take that chance with the innocent life at risk.

Blake didn't respond well to the demand. "No." He spat back and suddenly gripped the little girl's arm tighter until she whimpered which shot straight to Chris' heart. "You're going to drop your weapon or this kid's death is on your head."

Chris hadn't taken his eyes off of the kid whose face was scrunched up in pain, and to make matters harder silent tears were falling down her face. When she called backwards for her mom, who was clearly the women lying on the floor and Chris hoped to hell she wasn't dead, it almost broke Pike. She looked so confused, hurt and far too young to be pushed around and threatened like this.

The fugitive didn't appreciate Pike's silence, he growled and threatened. "You've got 3 seconds, I mean it."

Chris could tell he meant it, the cold look in his eyes and the way the knife hovered steadily. Pike couldn't let this little girl get caught up in this at the moment he had no definitive shot, so the only play he had here was to give into the fugitive and hopefully get the attention away from the child and her mother.

"Alright, alright." He called out desperately, holding the phaser up and away from his body in clear surrender. He slowly lowered it to the floor and tossed it a few feet from him, before rising up again and keeping his hands in the air. "It's on the floor, so just ease up a little okay?"

Blake straightened up a little behind the girl but he kept his iron-clad grip on her arm and the knife never wavered from next to her throat. "You don't tell me what to do, I'm in control here."

_Shit,_ Lothar was far more volatile than intelligence had suggested, and far more desperate.

Chris tried to relax his stance and bowed his head submissively when he replied. "Got it, you're in control."

His submission was enough to help calm the situation and after hearing the little girl sniff again Blake let go of her arm but warned her to stay close.

"Can't I go and see my mommy?" The little girl squeaked, clearly frightened and holding back further tears.

Pike's heart clenched at the plea and he wanted nothing more than to help her get back to her mother unharmed; the fugitive on the other hand was less moved by the plea. He snapped suddenly. "No, you will stay here like I said or things will get bad."

Predictably his answer did not go well. The kid tried to turn around to run away and started asking why her mother wasn't answering her, Blake grabbed her arm again before she got far and when Chris stepped forward to intervene the knife was back in play.

Chris stopped immediately and tried to get across that he wasn't a threat. He eyed Blake and then the girl and indicated that this was not the way to keep kids calm. "Let me talk to her okay, I'm gonna do everything you say. You're still in control here."

The fugitive glared at him suspiciously before eventually nodding. "Okay but make it quick, I want her to stop wailing."

_Well don't hurt her mother and hold a knife to her throat._ Was his inner thoughts, what he actually said was addressed to the little girl.

He smiled kindly and caught the kid's eye. "What's your name sweetheart?"

Blake scoffed which Chris ignored. The little girl swallowed and sniffed a bit before growing bold. "Amelia." She answered in a croaky voice.

Chris was pleased she was open enough to giving him her name; if he could just get her to calm down then Lothar might relax a notch or two as well. "That's a lovely name Amelia, my name's Chris."

He glanced around the flat which he now noticed looked more lived in than the others but was clearly still supposed to be abandoned. If he were to guess then he would say that Amelia and her mother were most likely squatters.

"Do you and your mother live here?"

The little girl nodded meekly. She looked uncomfortable and clearly wanted to be out of the strange man's grip, she pouted and looked at Chris. "I want to go and sit with mom, can you tell him to let me?"

Chris glanced to the fugitive who shook his head once no; impatience shone through his irritated expression. Pike gulped hard but plastered a fake smile on his face and thought up a strategy that was most likely to keep Amelia calm.

"Your mom's sleeping at the moment Amelia, but that's okay because we're all playing a game."

Amelia perked up when he mentioned the word game, just like he hoped she would. "What game?"

"It's a game called 'make believe'. What you need to do is close your eyes, stay exactly where you are and come up with the most amazing creature you can think of."

Amelia looked intrigued and she tilted her head to the side, forgetting about the man behind her and the knife held steadily near her face. "Like what?"

Chris came up with something quickly, using what he knew of this planet's animals to fuel his imagination. "Well like, an animal with rainbow scales that can breath underwater but also has wings to fly, it sparkles in the dark and breathes fire when it opens its mouth."

Amelia was imagining what he was suggesting and her little eyes were widening. Chris saw that Blake was about done with his interference so he hurried it up. "It's your turn Amelia, I want you to close your eyes and think of every little detail you can, picture your new friend, imagine what it can do and what it looks like and don't forget a name."

Amelia nodded excitedly and glanced back at her mother on the floor. "Can I tell her about it when she wakes up?"

Chris nodded quickly. "Sure. But now you've got to close your eyes and start the game; me and my friend here are going to play a game of our own so just ignore us."

Amelia smiled happily and her fear evaporated as the excitement of playing a new game with new people took over; she closed her eyes and the sniffling and tears stopped. Chris breathed a sigh of relief and met the fugitive's glare. The guy released his hold on Amelia and seemed satisfied when she stayed where she was and kept her eyes closed.

Blake moved the knife away a little but kept it within striking distance incase Pike tried anything. "Who are you _Chris_ and what do you want with me?"

Chris glanced down at Amelia and was grateful to see she was ignoring them completely, just like he'd told her too. He flicked his eyes back up to the cold face of the fugitive and his face hardened in response. "I'm Captain Christopher Pike, from the Starship Enterprise. I represent the United Federation of Planets and we have a warrant for your arrest."

Blake looked a little shocked by the news. "The Federation's behind this? How did they get wind of it…"

Pike was a little in the dark here. All he had been briefed on was the fact that the fugitive was a priority one target, he hadn't been told why he was so important or what information he supposedly had. Lothar suddenly stared his way and glanced from him to Amelia who was thankfully still oblivious that the situation wasn't a game.

"Do you want to keep her alive?" The knife was moved closer to Amelia's face threateningly.

Chris stiffened and his eyes narrowed dangerously. He met the cold glare and nodded sharply once. "Yes." Really, what kind of question was that?

Blake smiled victoriously and he indicated to Chris. "Take your vest off, empty your pockets and belt. Throw it into the middle."

Chris sighed heavily and began to do what he had been instructed to do, slowly unclipping his communicator, restraints and extra power pack for his phaser. He noticed the fugitive zero in on the handcuffs and was a little concerned that the guy had plans to use them on him.

Once he removed the tactical vest and dropped it into the middle of the floor he was left in his casual clothes, which had been deemed appropriate for the particular mission. Wearing just jeans, boots and a long sleeved shirt and jacket, he didn't have anything on him identifying him as Starfleet anymore.

"Get down on the floor, legs apart and put your hands behind your head." Blake ordered, keeping his hostage between Chris and himself.

Chris dropped to the floor slowly and did as instructed; he placed his hands behind his head and interlaced his fingers. When Chris was in the position he glanced upwards to the fugitive who had finally stepped out from behind the girl, feeling secure enough to now that Pike was on the floor and weaponless. Blake noticed that his opponent was looking and suddenly the knife shot out threateningly.

"Face the floor and don't move."

Pike immediately looked down and averted his eyes away from the fugitive, wanting that knife away from Amelia as soon as possible. Knowing he couldn't look up Chris was stuck with simply listening to what was going on, and he had to try to use the sounds to piece together where Lothar was and what he was up to.

Chris thought he heard footsteps and then he heard rummaging, clearly Blake had reached his collection of things which probably meant he had his hands on his phaser. He suddenly heard the sound of his own phaser whirring to life, proving his point. As if the situation weren't bad enough, this guy now had a ranged weapon meaning he could threaten and use Amelia's life to control his captive from anywhere in the room.

Pike stilled when he felt footsteps come closer to him and he soon sensed a presence walk around his body. Chris kept completely still and clenched his hands in place to resist reacting to the threat like his body was screaming at him to do; there was another life at stake here.

"Move your right hand to your lower back." The fugitive ordered. "And don't try anything, I've got your gun now and it's pointed at the kid."

"You don't need to threaten her, I'm doing everything you say." Chris responded and went to start moving his wrist. He stopped suddenly and gasped out when what felt like a boot kicked his ribs from the side harshly, smarting his side and definitely leaving a bruise or two.

"Chris?" Amelia called out cautiously, obviously hearing the pain in his voice.

Chris kept his eyes facing the floor even though every fibre in his being wanted to glance up, he tried to keep the pain out of his voice when he replied. "Don't worry Amelia it's all part of the game, you carry on with yours and tell me all about it when we're done."

Thankfully Amelia did as Chris asked and went back to her game none the wiser. Blake didn't appreciate the interruption or the fact that things were happening without his say so. He placed his boot on Chris' lower back and pressed down, Chris bit back a grunt knowing it would just worry Amelia again.

"Nobody told you to speak." Lothar removed his boot and threatened him. "Now move your hand before I get nasty."

Chris didn't point out that the fugitive was _already_ nasty, he didn't think it would go down well for him or Amelia. Instead he clamped his jaw shut and moved his right hand to his lower back as instructed. Predictably he felt cold metal against his wrist then a snap when the handcuff was locked in place, far too tightly to be comfortable. Blake ordered his next hand down and that was soon given the same treatment. The cuffs were checked by his captor and after shaking his wrists a bit he was satisfied that they were tight and locked securely. Blake then set about patting him down, checking through pockets and even his ankles for any hidden items.

Pike kept his head down and ignored the poking and prodding over his body, he flexed his wrists when they were released and was dismayed to find even the act of that was painful. The cuffs were far too tight and if he wasn't careful they might stop blood flow to his fingers, still he had bigger problems to deal with at the moment; like a desperate fugitive with a lethal phaser and a kid caught up in the middle of all this.

Once Blake was finished patting him down he gripped his upper arm and hauled him to his knees, not caring that Chris almost lost his balance and was close to falling forwards again. When his captive was up he immediately sought Amelia and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw she was in the same place, untouched and still had her eyes closed.

"How many of you in the building?" Lothar asked, pulling his attention back to him.

He was standing to his side, the phaser in hand and pointing vaguely in Amelia's direction. Blake noticed where Pike was looking and he suddenly turned suspicious.

"If I find out you're lying Starfleet, then you know who will get hurt." His eyes flicked to Amelia; the threat clear.

Chris glared at the fugitive and the use of his new nickname but refrained from snapping back. He couldn't afford to be caught out in a lie, not with Amelia's life hanging in the balance.

"4 more."

Blake glanced up at the ceiling like he was imagining where they were. "They all searching different floors?"

"Yes."

Fate chose that moment to spring a new problem into the mix. Chris' communicator suddenly burst into life and started beeping. The fugitive almost jumped a mile high, he stared at the offending item and went to pick it up, glaring back at Chris like he was to blame for this.

"Who is it?" He barked.

Chris glanced over at Amelia and was seriously worried that the noise would pull her out of her game, thankfully whatever she was imagining was enough to keep her occupied and unaware of the rising tension.

He turned back to Blake and the communicator held a short distance away from his mouth. "I don't know until I answer it."

The fugitive narrowed his eyes dangerously and sighed, he glanced from Chris to Amelia and made a decision. "You're going to answer it and you're going to tell whoever it is whatever you need to to make them go away, or I will shoot her."

His gun was now up and pointed directly at Amelia so Chris didn't have any doubt as to who the target was. Pike nodded quickly and Blake opened the communicator and held it next to his mouth.

Chris schooled his features and took a deep breath. "Pike here." He answered neutrally.

"Captain, I've finished my sweep of floors 17 through 20 and no sign."

Chris glared at Lothar who was smirking at the irony of the situation. "Okay Lieutenant, head down to floor 13 and give Lewis a hand."

"Yes Sir."

The connection was cut and Chris was pleased that he didn't have to put up an act for much longer. He was less pleased that he hadn't had a chance to tip his officer off that everything had gone pear-shaped; he was on his own down here.

The fugitive tossed the communicator on the floor and appraised Pike carefully. "They're searching above us aren't they? It's clear down below."

Chris didn't see much point in lying; he nodded dejectedly. Blake grinned and suddenly went to pick up the vest and equipment, putting it on piece by piece. Pike frowned at the action, he didn't understand where the fugitive was going with this or the sudden happiness he was exuding.

Lothar smiled wickedly and glanced from Amelia to Chris who was still kneeling where he had left him. "Amelia do you want to go on a trip?"

Amelia's eyes snapped open, intrigued and confused at being addressed by the man she didn't like. Chris breathed out sharply through his nostrils and felt his body go rigid. "Take me instead, you've done enough damage here already."

The fugitive's smile dropped off his face and he stormed over; he hefted the phaser in his hand and swung it into the side of Pike's head like a bat. "You're not in charge here!"

Chris cried out in pain and toppled over entirely from the force of the impact, his vision grew hazy for a few moments and he was worried he was going to pass out. Thankfully the feeling passed and he was left with a vicious throbbing in his head, and he could feel blood trickling from his hairline.

"Chris, Chris!" Amelia shouted and Chris suddenly felt small hands on his body.

He bit back a moan and forced his eyes open, seeking out the little girl. She was kneeling next to his body, wide eyed and afraid, tears welling in her eyes and staring at the blood on his face with fear. Chris realised this must be like reliving what happened to her mother.

"I'm okay Amelia." He managed to sound normal-ish and plastered a strained smile in place, looking around the little girl to the fugitive who was hovering nearby and looked about ready to explode.

"You're hurt." Amelia stated confidently, eyes still transfixed on the blood.

Blake latched onto the words and walked over, grabbing Chris by the arm and hauling him up which caused him to moan and sway on his knees unsteadily and Amelia to cower away. "He is, and that's why we've all got to go on a trip, to get a Doctor."

Pike glared at the fugitive and tried to put his body between Amelia and the man, sadly Lothar was having none of it and just held his arm in place tighter.

"You don't need a child as a hostage anymore, I'll do everything you say." Chris swallowed his pride and pleaded.

Blake smiled nastily and his eyes flicked to Amelia. "Yes, you will do everything I say, which is why she's coming with us."

"But-" Chris started only to be interrupted.

"No. Enough." The fugitive took a hold of Amelia's hand and pulled her away from Chris. "She's coming with and that's the end of the discussion. If you mention it one more time I'll make the mother's sleep permanent."

Chris stilled at the threat, he was aware what Lothar meant and why he had phrased it in such a way; so Amelia would be none the wiser.

"I want to stay with mom." Amelia whined suddenly and tried to tug her hand away.

Blake held her strongly and his smile turned strained. "Sorry kid but your mom needs a Doctor too and we've all got to go otherwise he won't come."

Amelia frowned heavily but her sniffling stopped and tears were wiped away. She turned back around to Chris and asked. "Can I tell the Doctor my make-believe creature?"

Chris smiled despite the situation, wanting to help Amelia cling onto any distraction in this heinous mess. "Yeah, you can tell all my friends about it too."

He eyed the fugitive and saw his true meaning land, Chris was letting Lothar know that if he insisted on this course of action then Starfleet would find out and more people would get involved.

Blake glared down at him and saw the challenge in Pike's eyes. He pulled Chris to his feet and kept a tight grip on his captive's arm. "I hope you don't have too many friends, I can get trigger happy if there's too many people around."

Chris stared Lothar down and followed the direction of the phaser warily, noticing it land and point at Amelia who was oblivious to the threat the fugitive had just delivered.

Blake smiled wickedly and leaned in to whisper. "I mean it Starfleet, anyone interferes and the kid gets it."

Chris stared back into the face of evil and replied with a deadly promise of his own, born out of his overwhelming need to protect the innocent. "If you hurt her, I'll kill you."

The two adversaries glared at one another and let the two very different but very real threats sink in. Eventually Blake just laughed and he gripped Chris's shoulder and steered him towards the door, calling out to Amelia to head out in front and lead the way like a game.

Chris felt the phaser jab against his side but he didn't react. No, he kept all his attention on the little girl who was walking in front of the pair of them happily, truly believing she was going on a special trip and completely oblivious to the mortal danger they were in. Chris was adamant that he was going to keep this little girl safe; no matter the cost.

* * *

The trio made their way along the corridor towards the stairwell. Blake kept one hand on Chris' shoulder and used the other to control the weapon. Amelia never wandered too far ahead and she looked back frequently to make sure Chris was still following. She appeared to be doing well despite the situation, she had brightened up as soon as Blake had called this little outing a 'special trip.'

Pike had tried to put on a brave face for the kid, he smiled at her every time she glanced back his way and she seemed to have forgotten his earlier injury which was a bonus. He didn't want her anymore scared than necessary, this was already going to traumatise her for years to come. That was assuming that they did make it out of the situation alive. The longer Chris watched Amelia the less fussed he was about his own fate, but he would get Amelia and hopefully her mother out alive, even if it was the last thing he ever did.

It wasn't long before they reached the staircase. Blake gave Amelia the go ahead to open the door and they all made their way out onto the landing. The trio made it down one flight of stairs when they heard a door clatter open several flights up.

Chris was slammed up against a wall before the door swung shut; Blake reached out and grabbed Amelia and made a shushing motion with his finger. Pike was still debating whether making a sound was a viable risk when Lothar took that option away from him. Blake slapped his hand over the Captain's mouth and brought up the phaser to rest against his head.

Chris was still reeling, it had all been calm moments earlier but now he and Amelia were in serious danger. Pike's eyes widened and he breathed sharply against the hand over his mouth. The fugitive narrowed his eyes at him, and managed a strained smile towards Amelia who looked scared and lost.

"It's okay kid. They're the bad guys and we've got to stay real quiet so they don't find us." Blake whispered.

Chris swore internally and glared furiously at Blake. He had quite a nerve manipulating a kid like that, and making her fearful of the few people who could actually help her and her mother.

Blake and Amelia jumped when another door slammed and they heard a pair of footsteps and faint chatter. Chris watched the fugitive's itchy trigger finger and his heart skipped a beat when the loud clang almost caused Blake to fire.

Lothar glanced nervously upwards and Amelia shrank further back against the wall, shooting a panicked look towards Chris and then up the stairwell. It was clear she didn't look convinced by their captive's lies, something which Blake noticed too.

He shook Pike's head roughly causing Chris to grunt against the hand that was still pressed over his mouth. "They're the enemy. Isn't that right Chris?"

Chris stared into the fugitive's eyes and he saw the unspoken threat there; Blake's eyes flicked to Amelia and he mimed a bang just incase he hadn't made his murderous intentions clear on more than one occasion. Pike swallowed down the rage that the callous threat brought in, it was bad enough that anyone would threaten a child's life in the first place but the casual manner was the thing that boiled Chris' blood. It was the amused glint in Blake's eyes that made Chris want to wrap his hands around the monster's neck and never let go.

Sadly though Pike's hands were cuffed and he had a phaser against his forehead, so instead of wrestling the sick psycho to the floor he had no choice but give into his demands. He swallowed his rage down and glanced over at Amelia who was patiently waiting for his answer, she was frowning at the phaser and Blake's hand. Chris was worried she was becoming suspicious of what exactly the fugitive was doing.

The fugitive lifted his hand off lightly but threw Chris a warning flare and tightened his hold on the phaser.

"He's right Amelia. You've got to stay super quiet okay?" Chris whispered as quietly as he could manage, mindful of Lothar's glare boring into his skull.

Amelia took his word as gospel and she mimed zipping up her lips, she backed further into the corner and stared silently up to where the voices were slowly getting louder.

Blake grinned triumphantly and he returned the hand to his captive's mouth, being sure to add pressure unnecessarily and trying to get a rise out of Pike. Chris didn't give him the satisfaction. He simply leaned back against the wall and allowed his body to relax, he listened to the voices and tried to discern what they were saying.

"Have you heard from the Captain or Jakeson?"

"No, but my communicator doesn't seem to be working at all anymore. I can't contact the ship either."

Chris listened carefully, when he heard the part about communicators not working at all he cursed their luck. Clearly the signal interference had gotten even worse, without communications it would take a lot longer than he had anticipated for Enterprise to figure out that something was wrong. Even the away team would have to rely on doing things the old fashioned way, it was a bloody nightmare and the worst thing was; Blake now knew their weakness. The fugitive grinned at the news like a Cheshire cat.

"So, do we try and regroup?"

Silence stretched out after the question was asked, Chris held his breath and remained hopeful that perhaps people would be looking for them sooner rather than later. Blake lost the cocky grin and he tightened his grip on his captive, shooting him a glare which roughly translated to - 'don't you dare try anything'.

"No, not yet. We should finish the sweep of our assigned floors. If we still come up empty then we can search for Jakeson and the Captain and regroup outside."

"Roger that. See you on the other side."

Chris groaned inwardly, whilst Blake broke out into a wide grin. The tension had been palpable before, whereas now the fugitive looked just as cocky as he had always been. He was still a little on guard as they all heard the Starfleet personnel move around, but a lot happier now he knew they were leaving and his great escape was likely to go unnoticed for longer than he had first thought.

One set of footsteps continued down the stairs whilst the sound of a door opening echoed throughout the stairwell. The trio waited in tense silence whilst the footsteps ceased; another door opened and then finally the stairwell was empty and silent.

Blake slowly released his grip over Pike's mouth and removed the phaser from his head; he backed up towards the middle and glanced upwards. Lothar looked tense for a few seconds and then his shoulders sagged and he blew out a breath of air in relief.

"Jeez, that was a close one." The fugitive grinned towards Pike and Amelia and waved the phaser towards the stairs. "Come on, we better get out of here before they come back."

* * *

"Captain Pike, this is Lieutenant Spock. Do you read me?"

"Captain Pike, please come in."

"Lieutenant Spock to Enterprise."

"Lieutenant Spock to Lieutenant Jakeson."

"This is Lieutenant Spock, can anyone read me?"

Spock had begun attempting to contact the Captain. After attempts had failed he felt slightly concerned. After hearing only silence for 30 seconds he soon moved onto trying to contact the ship, to get an update about the scanning capabilities as well as the away team's progress. When they didn't reply his slight concern increased. Fast running out of ideas, Spock opened the communicator to all Starfleet frequencies and sent out an open message. Any Enterprise crew member in the ship or on the planet should have received that message and yet he heard nothing back. After the continued silence he realised two things: communication was out between the ground teams and the ship, and he had no way of knowing if the fugitive had been apprehended yet.

That was the reason why he had not entered the building so far. He couldn't afford to go in deaf and blind, not if Captain Pike was leading an organised effort inside. Spock might just end up getting in the way or worse compromising the plan. He knew all these reasons were logical so why was it that Spock was having to restrain himself from charging into the fugitive's last known location?

It was becoming a genuine dilemma and one he did not like being in the middle of. His concern that he hadn't heard from the Captain or any member of the away team was beginning to outweigh the logical reasons for not going in. Even though he didn't have the facts to back it up, he couldn't help but feel that something must have gone wrong; he couldn't help but feel that that there was danger nearby.

Spock snapped the useless communicator shut and replaced it on his belt. He shook off the unwelcome paranoid feelings that had settled inside of him, Spock was fairly sure that this was what human's called 'gut instinct'. He was not familiar with the feeling nor was it a welcome one.

If the communicators were all down in the area then the electrical interference had gotten worse. Spock had beamed down from the ship along with a mixed engineering and science team to try and determine the cause, and shut it down before the fugitive got away. So far they hadn't made much progress, in fact now that communications were down he had to accept that they had in fact lost progress.

A sudden sound behind him had Spock spin on the spot, his brain recognised that the front door of the derelict was opening before his eyes confirmed that same fact. He had already been on high alert due to the lack of communication with the away team, but he still didn't react quickly enough.

He locked eyes with a man that was dressed in standard Starfleet tactical gear, but he was not a member of the Enterprise crew. Spock realised belatedly that their fugitive Lothar Blake had just exited, he was wearing _their_ tactical gear and he wasn't alone.

Spock gripped his phaser from its holster, and he had it up and pointed at the threat at the exact same time that Blake had made use of his human shield: the Captain.

Spock ignored the sheer panic he felt at the sight of Captain Pike, with a phaser against his head in the grip of a violent fugitive. He apprised the situation carefully and noted that the kit the fugitive was wearing and using had been Pike's. To make matters worse the Captain had his hands restrained, and there was a thin trickle of blood running down his face. Their eyes met for a few seconds and Spock saw relief, anger and worry all mixed up together. Worry was the overwhelming emotion, and Spock read from the Captain's eye movements that it was for the other member of the group.

"Don't move kid, stay exactly where you are. In front of me." Blake ordered.

Spock's eyes drifted downwards and he frowned when he noticed just how young the kid was, she couldn't be more than a few years old and had clearly been crying extensively. She also looked absolutely petrified, of Spock and the fugitive which informed Spock that she wasn't here by choice.

This certainly explained why the Captain looked so tense and angry. It boiled his blood that a child was being used as a human shield and bargaining chip, it didn't sit well with Spock either. It was also probably the reason why the Captain was a hostage in the first place; the building was supposed to be empty…

"I don't want to do this anymore. I want my mom. I'm scared!" The child turned and started yelling at the fugitive who did not take the tantrum well at all.

"Shut up and stay where you are or Chris will get hurt!" Blake threatened callously.

To emphasise his point he gripped the Captain's hair and yanked back, exposing his throat and causing Pike to grunt in pain and screw his eyes up.

"Chris!" The little girl yelled, her eyes wide with fear and frozen in place by the aggressive action. Clearly the child and the Captain had formed some sort of bond, which was not uncommon for Pike. He was fiercely protective of all people but he had a soft spot for kids.

Spock had seen enough, he needed to take control of this situation before someone was killed. He could see the child was only a few seconds away from breaking down completely and the gunman clearly was an impatient man.

Spock focused all of his attention on the target and tried to get a clear shot. "Lower your weapon." He ordered in a steady voice, keeping his tone neutral despite the high stakes situation.

The fugitive snapped to Spock, his eyes widened in surprise like he had just been reminded of his presence. Blake glared his way furiously and gave his hostage's head a nasty yank, causing Chris to grunt in pain. Spock felt a flash of anger and ruthlessly had to shove the unwelcome feeling aside; it was not pleasant seeing his Captain hurt.

"No way Starfleet. I'm holding the cards here. You drop your weapon." Blake sounded in control but it was the way his gaze flicked to the child worryingly that gave him away, he was afraid that the situation was getting out of control.

"I cannot do that."

Blake narrowed his eyes and then strangely started laughing, a mocking lilt to it. "Funny, that's what he said. And look where we are now." He gave his captive another prod but this time Pike kept his mouth firmly shut and ignored the goad.

"Chris, are you okay? What's going on. I don't like this anymore."

Amelia was staring wide-eyed towards her friend who still had his head yanked backwards, she could tell something wasn't right and she was becoming more and more afraid of the man who was hurting her friends. Silent tears had already started appearing and her sniffles were beginning to become louder, it wouldn't be long before she was crying properly.

"Look he's fine for crying out loud." Blake lost his rag and shouted back at Amelia who cowered away in fear. The fugitive let go of his grip on Pike's head and Chris quickly sought Amelia's frightened face. He tried to smile at her in an attempt to reassure her that everything was okay, but Amelia wasn't buying it anymore.

Amelia took one look at her friend held against the bad man who kept hurting people, and she began to cry and stumble away.

Predictably Blake didn't like that one bit. He shoved his captive forward and yelled out a threat to the child that had her freeze in pure terror. "If you don't stop crying I'm gonna get really angry, I'll do to Chris what I did to your mom."

Spock had been watching the exchange cautiously, all the while looking for a shot that wouldn't result in casualties. Unfortunately he had not had such an opportunity as of yet, but he knew it was becoming more likely that Blake would make a mistake the longer the child distracted him.

He hated the way the fugitive threatened the child, especially for the act of being afraid and crying, which he had clearly caused. The Captain loathed the behaviour as well, Spock could see his jaw clenching, and his muscles tensing against Blake every time the fugitive spoke to Amelia. When Blake mentioned a veiled threat to do with the kid's mother, Pike lost his cool.

Pike tried to shift around in the grip but found his attempts blocked by Blake. He didn't let that deter him from what he had to say though. "Stop scaring her. She's just a kid for god's sake."

"She's making me lose it, I swear one more cry and I'm cutting some people loose." Blake growled nastily.

Pike stiffened again and took a deep breath to cool down. Spock could see that the Captain was struggling to remain calm, if he were honest even Spock had trouble remaining unaffected when it was a young girl's life being threatened so callously.

"Look you brought her along, I told you to just take me." Spock could hear the accusation in the Captain's tone, he was essentially telling Blake that he had brought this upon himself.

Predictably Blake heard the underlying accusation too and refused to take it lying down. "I thought I told you that you're not in charge here."

He slapped Pike round the back of the head causing his captive to yelp and try to break away from his captivity. Blake growled angrily and grabbed hold of his arm, pulling him back and in place before Spock managed to get a chance of a clear shot. The fugitive looped his arm around Pike's neck, and tightened his hold until his captive was held tightly against him as a very effective human shield.

Chris resisted the urge to complain or fight against the rough treatment too much, he focused on trying to rationalise with the fugitive and keep him from blowing up entirely. "I can stop her crying. I can keep her calm."

Blake huffed impatiently but nodded in the child's direction. "Do it, but quickly."

Spock kept the fugitive in his crosshairs and hoped the distraction of Pike talking to the child would force him to make a mistake. The problem was that Blake's attention was solely on Spock; he let his captive talk freely to try and calm Amelia.

"Amelia remember the game we played earlier, make-believe?"

Amelia sniffled and appeared to stop crying, she glanced up to Chris and frowned heavily. "I don't want to play anymore. I want my mom."

Pike's face scrunched up with anguish; it was clear he was struggling to keep up the pretence that this all wasn't a game. The only thing that forced more lies to tumble out of his lips was the will to keep Amelia alive.

"Remember we need to find a doctor? We've all got to have a chat to make that happen, so until then you've got to be quiet. For your mom okay?"

Amelia looked uncertainly up at him and she wiped her nose with her sleeve, and the sniffling ceased little by little. When Chris mentioned the Doctor and her mother she stopped crying completely. Spock noted that Amelia looked at the Captain with a lot of trust for someone whom she had only just met, Pike had that affect on people though.

Eventually she muttered an answer, trying to sound brave and grown up for her mom. "Okay."

Spock noticed the agitation growing on the fugitive's face, his eyes were narrowing at Pike and Amelia and he tightened his hold on the Captain inch by inch. Chris noticed that Blake's patience was running incredibly thin to. Pike managed a strained smile and quickly rattled off some instructions that would keep Amelia safe, and hopefully occupied enough to not be scared.

"Just do the same as before, keep your eyes closed and focus on the game. Tell me all about it later."

Thankfully Amelia did just that. She turned back around to face Spock and closed her eyes, her expression was scrunched up in concentration but the majority of her initial panic had now disappeared. Now that she was occupied the three adults turned their attention to each other, and the two deadly weapons in play.

Blake tipped his head towards Spock and eyed the weapon that Spock was still gripping tightly. "You know what I want _Starfleet._ I suggest you don't mess me about."

Spock noted the disdain dripping from the word Starfleet, but he didn't let it or the pain Blake was currently inflicting on Pike affect his expression or response. Emotions would only cause him and others harm, it was imperative now more than ever that Spock kept them buried. "I only want to talk, and to find a solution that keeps everyone safe."

"I don't want to talk, I want your weapon on the floor now."

"More personnel are on their way, you will soon be surrounded. It is you who should relinquish your weapon."

"Bullshit."

Spock was stunned by the vehemence lacing Blake's denial, he also appeared far too confident for somebody who had to know that more Starfleet personnel were planet-side. "I don't under-"

The fugitive interrupted him and demonstrated just why he was so confident. "I know you lot have lost communications, there's no backup coming anytime soon and if you had a clear shot you would have taken it by now."

Spock wasn't sure how the fugitive could possibly know about their communication issues, one drained look from the Captain informed him that it was a long story and that Blake's confidence wasn't unfounded. Sadly the fugitive was also right about him not finding a clear shot.

Lothar took Spock's silence as an answer in itself; he grinned triumphantly and nodded his head at Amelia. "There would be too much collateral damage if you get it wrong."

Spock felt anger begin to rear its ugly head again. He could say that it was because the fugitive was treating life so carelessly, or the fact that he was threatening to kill a child, or because seeing Captain Pike held in the violent man's grip was unpleasant. Whatever the reason Spock was finding it more difficult to keep his expression stoic and everything under wraps. Pike didn't have the same restraint as Spock, he positively growled and tried again to tear away from the fugitive's grip, Blake didn't let him get far.

Spock didn't react negatively to the threat like the Captain did, instead he fell back on the one thing he could rely upon: reason. "You cannot possibly hope to escape from this planet, even by threatening lives."

Blake's expression hardened to stone, his eyes flicked to Spock's weapon impatiently. "You let me worry about that Starfleet."

The fugitive glanced behind him furtively, most probably realising that his time was running short. Even if Starfleet had no communications the away team wouldn't stay inside the derelict building forever.

Blake looked like he had just had a bright idea, his eyes flicked to Amelia who thankfully was still taking no notice of the threats. "How much is the life of a child worth to you?"

He tightened his arm around Pike's throat causing him to grunt with discomfort. "This one gave up his own freedom to save her. What will you do?"

Spock flicked his gaze to Pike, he was unsure what the right course of action was. It didn't happen often but right now Spock was torn; the book said one thing but his empathy told him another. Judging by the Captain's captive status he had struggled with this same dilemma. Spock ran through the situation. He hadn't and still didn't have a shot on the target, he couldn't communicate with any member of Starfleet and there was a child in the middle of all this who would more than likely get caught in any firefight that either side initiated. He was at a standstill and sooner or later one side had to give, Spock was becoming more certain that it would not be Blake.

The fugitive noticed Spock looking to his Captain for guidance. "Are you going to tell your officer to do the right thing or is the kid gonna get it?"

Pike had seen Spock's indecisive expression, both of their eyes met and then flicked down to the little girl stood between them. Pike gulped hard and closed his eyes for a few seconds, when he opened them Spock could tell he was defeated. The death of a child was not something either of them could live with.

After Spock nodded his agreement, the Captain offered Spock's surrender. "He'll stand down if you leave Amelia here."

Spock was as taken aback as the fugitive was by the Captain's negotiation tactic. He hadn't thought Pike would risk testing Blake's patience further, but clearly he thought it was worth it. Spock had to admit he wanted the child away from the dangerous man with the gun just as much as Pike did.

"What?"

"Think about it. She's only slowing you down and she's only gonna ask more questions the longer you keep her. You don't need two hostages, you have me and I'm cooperating."

Spock wasn't exactly pleased to hear that his Captain was offering to willingly go with the fugitive, but he was already a captive in the man's hands. He knew that Pike would do almost anything to get Amelia away from danger, and that included giving up his own life.

Blake looked halfway between telling the Captain to go to hell and just giving in to get past this whole mess. Eventually the need to get moving and away from possible reinforcements won out, that paired with the fact that taking the kid along was clearly annoying him. "Fine fine. The brat can stay here; but if you mess me around I won't hesitate to put a hole in you."

Pike sagged against Blake and let out a huge breath of air, visibly relieved that his mission to get Amelia out of harm's way was coming to an end. "I won't." Pike promised and glanced to Spock. "Stand down Lieutenant."

Spock didn't need telling twice, he had never questioned his Captain's orders and he wasn't about to start now. "Yes, Captain."

Spock powered down the phaser and slowly lowered it to the floor, keeping his eyes locked on Blake and the weapon in his grip. As soon as his weapon hit the floor Blake ordered it to be kicked over to the side, Spock did as instructed and he was soon standing unarmed across from an armed suspect. Blake glanced round anxiously and he spotted a railing outside the derelict building.

"Empty everything off your belt and go and handcuff yourself to the handrail."

Spock bit his tongue and did everything Blake ordered, his communicator, power packs and tricorder joined the phaser on the floor. The fugitive made sure that Spock threw the restraint keys on the floor to before he allowed him to head over to the hand rail. Spock could tell by the fugitive's hasty movements and barked orders that he was eager to get going; he was glancing around their surroundings more often now and Spock was reminded of the human phrase - jumping at shadows.

Spock lowered himself to the floor and cuffed one restraint around his wrist and the other around the hand rail, he gave the rail a discrete nudge and was disappointed to feel how sturdy it was. Blake pushed Pike away from him and appraised Spock's restraints, he was soon satisfied with the arrangement and bent down to retrieve Spock's handcuff keys. That done he shouted to Amelia, startling her from her imagination.

"Hey kid, get over there and sit down."

Amelia's eyes snapped open and Spock could tell from one look that she was panicked and afraid again, she was staring wide-eyed at the gunman and rooted to the spot in fear. Pike saw that Blake was about to lash out, he stepped between the two and smiled at Amelia, trying to reassure her. The Captain indicated with his head for her to follow him over to Spock, she did so but with great trepidation and Spock noted she was huddling close to Pike's legs. He was the only one she trusted.

Pike nodded his head to Spock and gently nudged Amelia over to the handrail. "This is my friend Spock. You're going to stay with him okay? He's gonna keep you and your mom safe."

Spock noticed the glance his Captain shot him, Pike was handing over the responsibility of Amelia's safety and wellbeing to him. He knew that there was a possibility that he wasn't coming back. Spock would fight like hell to make sure it didn't come to that but he knew it was important to Chris that this little girl was in good hands and would be looked after, even after all this was over. Spock nodded solemnly at his Captain, accepting the responsibility and making a promise of his own.

Amelia still looked a little unsure and she hovered near Spock but didn't sit down. Spock attempted a smile, he'd seen how effective that had been when the Captain had done it. Amelia seemed to appreciate his efforts although it was clear that he didn't look as approachable and trustworthy as Pike did.

"Hurry it up Starfleet." Blake ordered impatiently and moved in to grab a hold of Pike's arm.

Amelia frowned heavily and she looked like she was about to start crying again; she didn't want Chris to leave. She took a step forward and called out. "Where are you going?"

"We still need a Doctor for your mom." Pike smiled uneasily, gritting his teeth through the lie. "I'll be back later, okay?"

Amelia snivelled but clung to the promise and settled down next to Spock. "Okay."

Pike turned to Spock and indicated to the derelict building behind him. "Second floor, middle apartment."

Blake pulled Chris further away and the phaser settled against his lower back. "Come on let's go."

As the fugitive yanked his captive away he delivered one final threat. "If anyone follows me, I'll shoot first and ask questions later."

Spock watched the fugitive and his Captain disappear towards the busy capital, where they would be lost within the side streets and crowds in no time. Nobody other than Spock knew that the fugitive was armed, had a hostage and was escaping. Spock was restrained and stuck, Blake had taken the handcuff keys with him and all of his equipment was out of reach. To make matters more difficult Amelia was throwing him suspicious glances and staying well back and out of reach; clearly the Captain's word only went so far. The first thing he had to do was earn Amelia's trust, then he could get her to bring him his communicator and things. Spock was well aware of the urgency of the situation, he needed to find a way to make contact with the teams inside the building if he had any chance of helping Amelia, her mother and Captain Pike.

* * *

It didn't take the duo long to get lost within the crowds and market streets of the bustling capital. Chris kept his head facing forward and avoided eye contact with anyone and everyone, just like Blake had instructed. With his hands restrained behind his back and Blake gripping his arm they ended up getting quite a few odd and curious looks, although as soon as people noticed Blake's stolen badge and gear they assumed that this was a lawful arrest carried out by the federation. Because Chris had been stripped of any identifying markers he was just another ordinary bad guy, Pike had to admit that this part of the fugitive's plan was smart and they mostly moved through the city without a second glance. If anyone did pay too much attention one look at the phaser held in Blake's hands dissuaded them from getting too curious, and they soon moved along.

Chris clenched his jaw and bristled when the phaser jabbed into his side again, pressing against the already bruised area. He was cooperating as promised and hadn't said a word since leaving Spock and Amelia, but Blake couldn't help but try and get a rise out of him. Pike wasn't going to give him an excuse to lash out. No, his plan was to keep his head down and let the fugitive steer them away from the crowds; then he would think about how the hell he was going to incapacitate the armed man with his hands restrained as they were. Short of that he really didn't have much of a plan and he had already resigned himself to the idea that the Enterprise wasn't going to be able to help, that was until he spotted somebody in the crowd that made him do a double take.

Chris just about managed to keep the surprise off his face when he recognised Lieutenant Mann from the bridge walking their way and dressed in casual clothes. His heart began to thud immediately and his throat dried up. What if she noticed him restrained like this, or recognised the fugitive? What if Blake noticed her reaction and started a fire fight? In a small space such as this anyone could get hit in the crossfire.

It was more of a shock when Mann not only looked his way, met his gaze, flicked her eyes down to the phaser held against his ribs, and then glanced away again and continued walking onwards all without showing a single shred of emotion on her face.

_Huh_, not what he had expected. Chris wasn't sure if he should be more relieved that a firefight didn't break out or peeved that Mann hadn't recognised him.

Pike's mind was ripped from the puzzling behaviour when someone bumped into him, from behind and with enough force to cause him to stumble almost out of Blake's grip. Chris grunted from the shock of it and he felt something brush against his side before the contact and the presence disappeared. Pike looked up to glare at the person who had so roughly shoved him aside to get through and was shocked to see another familiar face looking back at him, it was a member of the security team from the Enterprise. He winked at Chris, tapped his ear and indicated with his head to the Captain's jacket.

Chris glanced downwards and noticed a tiny thumb sized dot had been attached to his jacket, he recognised it immediately as a high-tech listening device. Not only was it a listening device but it also had tracking capabilities too. Pike glanced upwards to the crew member but found that he was already out of sight. He suddenly began to panic that Blake would have seen any part of that, he definitely hadn't kept his reactions to the unexpected drop discreet.

He needn't have worried, Blake had been preoccupied with his own distraction. Lieutenant Mann had bumped into the fugitive at the same time as Pike had been approached by the other crew member; it had been a well executed distraction and other than a lot of swearing Blake was none the wiser that Enterprise was on to him. The ground teams didn't have to tail them both anymore and risk tipping off Lothar, now they could just track the device they had expertly dropped onto Pike and listen in on intel. Speaking of which; he should probably make use of that fact and try and pump Blake for information whilst he thought he was still winning and moving undetected.

Chris waited for Blake to calm down from being jostled. The interruption had made his paranoia flare up again and he looked around the space suspiciously, including glancing at Pike and making sure that he was still restrained and staring straight ahead. The interruption spooked the fugitive enough to cause him to steer off the main street and into a less populated alley.

Chris used the change in direction as an excuse to break the silence. "Where are we going?"

Blake scowled sideways at him and grunted. "Safe house."

The answer was a surprise; Pike thought they were heading into the crowds to lose a tail. He hadn't realised Blake had actually been going in a specific direction and had an actual destination in mind, and a safe house no less. Intelligence hadn't been able to track down where the fugitive had been staying and they definitely hadn't heard anything about a safe house before. Chris hoped that the ground teams would hold off from a take-down until this played out, that they would see the benefit of being led to the safe house which was bound to contain valuable intel. Not to mention a building was a much safer place for assault teams to breach, out here in the open no manner of things could go wrong and certain situations couldn't be contained.

Chris followed the pull from Blake and kept a watchful eye on his surroundings, so far he hadn't seen anymore Enterprise personnel so he had to assume that for now they were holding off on any rescue attempts.

"What's your plan when we get to the safe house?"

Blake bristled at the question and snarled. "What is this 20 questions?"

"Well I'd like to know what my immediate future is." Chris bit back.

Pike thought it was a perfectly reasonable question however Blake clearly did not. He groaned when the phaser jabbed between his ribs harshly and the fugitive's grip tightened painfully; Lothar leaned into Pike's space and growled a threat. "Your immediate future will be nothing at all if you're not careful."

Pike didn't want to push too far but the aggressive behaviour and veiled threats rubbed him up the wrong way. He had been assaulted, pushed around and dragged away as a hostage by their fugitive and all the while he had cooperated. All he had received in return was suspicion and brutality.

"I've been cooperating, I thought that would be enough to earn some answers." Chris barked back.

Blake did a double take and took in his hostage's open aggression; he glanced around the area to make sure no-one had overheard their conversation and pulled them both down another zigzagging alley. "At the moment you are a useful bargaining chip but if you keep pestering me then your usefulness won't be enough to keep me from killing you."

Pike swallowed down the majority of his anger and pointed out the flaw in his captor's plan. "Kill me or not, you won't be able to hide out forever." The tracking chip on his chest was proof of that.

"I'm not planning on staying on this dump." Lothar scowled at the people that passed by and the stalls in the marketplace. "We're going to pick up my valuables, get some credits and go and buy our way off this sorry excuse of a planet."

Chris was happy that he had got Blake talking, but he scoffed and his eyebrows rose incredulously when he heard the ridiculous plan. "And you think Starfleet will let you get that far? You do know there's a reward out for your capture in all the systems in this area."

The fugitive defied Pike's expectations again; instead of lashing out at his captive he grinned wolfishly and tapped the phaser against Pike's side. "Well that's where you'll become useful. You're my ticket out of here, Starfleet."

Chris glared at the grinning maniac but held his tongue, clearly the fugitive was completely beyond reason. Besides it was a good thing that he was overconfident, that meant he was more likely to make mistakes. Blake suddenly pulled Pike to the left and they ducked down a narrow passageway. They took a few more sharp turns and after descending several flights of steps; they both came to a stop outside a steel door.

Lothar glanced around suspiciously before pulling out a control and pressing his fingerprint to the terminal. There was a long beep and Pike watched as a force field fizzled into view across the door and then disappeared. He realised that it had been invisible before and from the complicated looking device in Blake's hand, it had probably been part of a very sophisticated security system.

Pike knew he had to get the information to the ground team without tipping Blake off; he nodded towards the device and quipped. "That's a lot of security for one person. Paranoid much?"

Blake bared his teeth and dragged his captive through the door, rearming the security system as soon as they were both across the threshold. "It's hardly paranoia anymore if there are actually people following me." He flicked his eyes up and down Pike's body and hauled him forwards.

"Fair point." Chris acknowledged with a wry smile. Blake had unknowingly confirmed to the listening ground team that he was the sole user of the safe house, and that it was protected by a security system.

Chris was led through to a large open space room which was filled with broken furniture, crates of supplies and walls covered in plans and surveillance pictures. He was so focused on the pictures that he missed Blake pushing him into the corner, so suddenly he was tumbling head first towards the floor with nothing to break his fall.

Pike crashed into the floor heavily, and he groaned when his face and bruised side took the majority of the fall. He slid to a stop when his side hit a solid surface he assumed was a wall, and he heard a barked command head his way.

"Stay put Starfleet, or I'll knock you out."

Chris stayed silent and still until he heard footsteps and Blake walked away from his crumpled position. Pike rolled over and picked himself up as best as he could, grunting when his muscles protested having to perform such a feat. Eventually he was sat with his back to the wall; his restrained hands pressed uncomfortably into his lower back but that wasn't going to change anytime soon.

Now that he could breathe unrestrictedly; and not flying into the floor, Chris could take a good look at his surroundings. His first priority was to locate the fugitive and assess the room. It didn't take long for Blake to wander back into the open space; who spared a glance at his prisoner but didn't comment at his seated position. Lothar dumped a bag on the floor and began rummaging through crates, his attention solely on gathering supplies and off of Chris which was welcome.

The Captain moved his attention back to the walls he had previously noticed, and more specifically the pictures and blueprints sprawling over the surface. He couldn't read much from his position on the floor, but it looked like everything one would need to plan an attack or target wherever the blueprints belonged to.

Blake wandered out of the room again, and Chris noticed that the phaser has been placed in his side holster. He could only hope that the weapon stayed there until Blake was arrested. Speaking of which, Chris turned his attention to looking for any signs of a breach.

With the contained nature of the room it was almost certainly going to be explosive; the ground team wouldn't want to give Blake the opportunity to use his human shield again. Quite frankly the current situation was as good as it could get; Blake was overconfident and felt safe and secure, the ground team had a listening device in the room, Chris was far out of reach and the weapon was currently out of play.

The ground team thought so too. Pike suddenly felt three short buzzes against his chest; he went rigid and his eyes shot towards the doorway. He knew that signalled a breach and they were giving him a three second warning.

Chris counted down in his head silently. Blake wandered back in on 1, his eyes were focussed on a data pad and he had no idea that merry hell was about to rain down upon him.

Pike's heart sped up and his eyes flicked towards the doorway nervously. When his mental countdown hit 0, the door exploded outwards in a flash of light and noise. Chris hit the floor and closed his eyes, trying to make himself as small as possible. He heard a clang, a shout and then a micro second later the stun grenades exploded.

* * *

Pike came to when he felt something hiss against his neck. His eyes flew open and his limbs jolted in response, Chris brought his hands up automatically and realised that he could actually move them. It was fantastic having his hands free once more, even if they were a little sore from wearing the tight restraints.

What was not fantastic was the blinding headache he had, and the nauseous feeling churning his stomach. He groaned and held his head in his hands, rubbing at his temple and trying to shake off the nasty effects of the stun grenade.

"Sorry about the headache Chris, I did try and keep the cowboys from throwing too many grenades in."

Pike opened his eyes blearily and smiled warmly when he recognised a very familiar face staring back. "Phil! Am I glad to see you."

"I see you got yourself into trouble again." Boyce joked while shaking his head, he applied some gauze to the Captain's head wound.

Chris gasped when the action caused a sudden stabbing pain, he tried to shift away from the treatment but there was a wall behind him stopping his escape from Boyce. The Doctor just laughed at the attempt and tutted in good nature.

Boyce suddenly produced a tricorder and began scanning the device up and down Pike's body. Chris glanced around the tricorder and noticed the room was smoky and filled with a lot of people. He soon spotted Blake on the floor, restrained and still unconscious. Other members of the ground team were already busy taking pictures of the intel and collecting evidence.

Everything seemed to be in hand in the room so his thoughts flew to the other thing he had been worrying about, or should he say someones.

"Have you heard from Spock?"

Boyce threw him a knowing glance but continued with his treatments, making sure to apply pressure to Chris' shoulder to make it clear that he would not be getting up anytime soon.

"He's fine Chris, in fact he's already back on the Enterprise."

"And the -"

Boyce interrupted with a smile. "And before you ask the girl and her mother are safe and well." He glanced at Chris with an odd expression. "Una's looking after them on the ship. I've been told the child has been asking after you repeatedly."

Chris breathed a sigh of relief, not quite realising just how much of a burden that had been on his shoulders. He had promised Amelia that he would help her mother; he was just grateful that Spock had been able to help him keep his promise.

"I taught her a game or two." Chris shrugged, his mood lightened now he knew everyone was safe. "You know kids like me."

Boyce barked a laugh and clapped him on the shoulder. "God knows why."

Before Chris could protest such a comment Boyce was speaking into the communicator and arranging a transport back to the ship. When the Captain tried to get to his feet, Boyce threatened to sedate him. Chris glared at his so-called friend even as the golden glow enveloped the both of them.

* * *

Chris wandered into the guest quarters assigned to Amelia and her mother, the door was already open and he heard voices floating out from the common area. He soon spotted Una standing in a doorway and moved to join his first officer.

Number One turned when she heard his footsteps and smiled warmly at him. "Captain."

Chris moved to stand by her side and nodded back. "Number One."

His eyes flicked over the scene in the common area. Amelia's mother was upright in a chair, her head was bandaged and she was chatting amicably to a man that Chris didn't recognise.

"What's this?" He leaned against the door frame, and inclined his head to the man and the paperwork strewn across the table top.

"He's an official from the governing body down there. They're providing Amelia and her mother subsidised accommodation and a job; courtesy of the federation."

Pike's eyes widened a little in surprise. He had hoped Una would have been able to get in contact with somebody who could help, but she had outdone herself yet again. "How on earth did you manage that?"

Una threw him a wry smile. "Uh... it's probably best if I don't tell you."

Chris closed his eyes and shook his head, why did Una always take the back channels. He hoped that whatever she had done wouldn't one day come back to bite him in the arse.

Una noted his expression and snorted. "It wasn't that bad Chris. I just _suggested_ to a few people that it was the least they could do. After all the federation got them involved in this mess."

Chris appraised his first officer and resisted the urge to smile too much, he couldn't be seen to condone such shifty behaviour even if the outcome was good. He was interrupted from his moral dilemma by two new arrivals, in the form of Spock and Amelia.

Chris noticed that Amelia had a tight hold of Spock's hand, which was in itself a strange sight. Spock had certainly taken his promise to care for Amelia seriously. He glanced from the conjoined hands to Spock's face and noticed the slightest twitch, showing his discomfort at the physical contact. Who knew a child could get under Spock's defences?

Pike wasn't evil nor was he one to tease so he kept his comments to himself, he met Spock's gaze and nodded gratefully to him for looking after Amelia. Spock returned the gesture and Chris thought he caught the beginnings of a smile for a second; he blinked and soon the apparition was gone, like it was never there.

Chris turned his attention to Amelia; this was the first time he had seen her since the planet. When he had dropped by sickbay earlier she had been in the middle of an examination.

Her little face lit up when she spotted him, she ripped her hand from Spock's grip and raced towards him. "Chris, Chris!"

Pike crouched down just in time for Amelia to crash into him, he laughed and embraced the child warmly. She pulled back and began talking animatedly, explaining everything that Spock had shown her on the Enterprise and how cool space was.

She led Pike over to the common area and picked up a sheet of paper, clutching it to her chest lovingly and smiling up at him. "I told Spock about our make-believe game. He gave me this so I could draw it."

Amelia thrust out the colourful paper towards Chris who took it obediently, he soon spotted the sheer amount of colour on the page and his eyes widened in wonder.

"It's a magical creature with sparkly skin, it's got a cape for flying, four arms and a long water tail. It changes its colour whenever it wants and can be invisible. He's a hero."

Pike took in the creature on the page and couldn't help but smile at all the details Amelia had put in, he nodded along whilst she explained her idea. His eyes were drawn to the badge attached to the cape, he soon recognised it as a Starfleet badge and he gulped heavily. Suddenly there was a lump in his throat, and he felt more than a little overwhelmed as he realised the implications of such a symbol.

Chris shook off the blind-siding emotions and plastered on a smile, he looked to Amelia and noticed her studying him anxiously. "It's perfect Amelia."

Amelia's anxiety melted away to be replaced by a huge grin, beaming happily because her new friend liked her creation. Chris glanced back down at the drawing and a sudden thought came to mind.

"Did you remember to give him a name?"

Amelia nodded enthusiastically. "His name's Chris."

_Finis_

* * *

**A/N - ****That wraps up the final of my Enterprise one-shot ideas, next up is a multi-chapter story set during Discovery series 2.**


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